Mutantelope

A blog for your campaign

While the wiki is great for organizing your campaign world, it’s not the best way to chronicle your adventures. For that purpose, you need a blog!

The Adventure Log will allow you to chronologically order the happenings of your campaign. It serves as the record of what has passed. After each gaming session, come to the Adventure Log and write up what happened. In time, it will grow into a great story!

Best of all, each Adventure Log post is also a wiki page! You can link back and forth with your wiki, characters, and so forth as you wish.

One final tip: Before you jump in and try to write up the entire history for your campaign, take a deep breath. Rather than spending days writing and getting exhausted, I would suggest writing a quick “Story So Far” with only a summary. Then, get back to gaming! Grow your Adventure Log over time, rather than all at once.

The trail, rather easy to follow, led us straight to the brigand’s hideout – a natural tunnel leading into an otherwise non-descript hill. The next few moments would teach us that, even though some strange fate drew us together, our ragtag band of strange individuals will need to work out on how to be most efficient as a group. If it weren’t for Cyrus I’d probably be beetle food by now, but I’m skipping ahead.

Reaching the entrance of the cave, we were informed by Cyrus that judging by the sounds coming from inside we were dealing with goblins. Where and above all why would any human pick up Goblin? I’ll have to ask him about this, but at any rate it was indeed soon confirmed by Lan that we were dealing with a small band of goblins and two rather sizeable beetles. Fortunately for us his keen eye also spotted what was surely either an alarm system or some sort of trap. It was quickly decided that we would storm their little hideout in lieu of luring them out which, for the record, I found a lot safer. My tactical genius being dismissed there was nothing to it but follow my companions into the mouth of uncertain doom.

Fortunately for us, Lan was absolutely correct about the number of enemies. The pointy eared archer, aided by Cyrus’s direction, somehow managed to confuse the goblins, while the goliath skewered a beetle with his javelin. I on the other hand had the pleasure of burning a sizeable hole in the other beetle’s carapace and lightly burning one of the goblins. Oh how I love the smell of ozone in the morning!

Things seemed to proceed really well at first, but soon Cyrus found himself surrounded by all the goblins and a beetle. It was obvious that the creatures were afraid of the reach of his strange blade and the hesitation on their part was most likely what saved his hide. As it became clear that he needed some assistance, bats arrived in time to impede the goblins’ movement somehow directed by Lan. May Va’astliax burn me to cinders, but I could have sworn not having seen any bats in the surrounding area. Either way, the beetle I had lovingly caressed with the crackle of lightning decided to show off then and there by spewing a fiery substance. While I was able to sidestep the conflagration, Cyrus wasn’t so lucky. Unfortunately the energy I had been building up in order to release my lightning breath fizzled because of this and all I was able to do was give Cyrus some extra energy. Those flying mice were impeding my ability to move as well! This led to a very up-and-close and extremely unpleasant experience with the goblin’s short swords. I believe I know fully understand why so many humans want to stay in their homes and perform something less dangerous, such as baking or knitting. But I digress. The wounds, though grievous, were not lethal and thanks to Cyrus’s help I was able to get out of the miasma of bats. It seems that his years in the military have honed his ability to spur others into doing what needs to be done.

During this time Rexgar cleaved the other beetle in twain and that seemed to be the prelude for our victory. Deciding to stay well out of reach of those swords and mandibles, I flung a lightning bolt into one of the goblin cronies, dropping it, while also starting to incinerate their pathetic excuse of a leader. We made short work of him and the remaining beetle, leaving one goblin who decided that surrender was the best option. This was actually a good thing as we learned that they were pillaging from the village on orders from orcs (how many orcs though…). While it was a clean victory on our side, there’s definitely room for improvement.

But victory nevertheless!

We were called into the office and given our orders. We were to investigate a number of raids resulting in stolen goods from local villages. Our superiors wanted the culprits to be brought to justice. And we were happy to oblige.

The team went to one of the villages most recently hit, and tracked the perpetrators back to a small cave around nightfall. A familiar language crackled from it’s hall. Now, most of my knowledge of the goblin language cones from insults (“Hruggek says you ugly!” “Your mother is a bugbear!” and the only slightly archaic “Your wife only has mild body hair.”), but there were goblins in those hills.

Lan snuck inside to investigate the odds. 3 goblins, and some beetles. Beetles the size of small dogs. No problem. Lan also let us know of a trap that the goblins had set near the cave entrance. With this in mind, I thought a frontal assault into the cave would be the best option. They wouldn’t trap the area where they sleep, and Kord knows my eyes aren’t as good as the elf.

We quickly came upon the goblins, with Lan firing his arrows from a distance, Indra firing lightning bolts, and Rexgar and I charging to the front.

Now, this is the part where all good plans go awry.

Rex was intercepted and engaged by one of the beetles, leaving him separated from Indra and I. We were quickly set upon by the goblins, and not in an optimal position. Surrounded and overextended, I found myself in a position that I wish to avoid in the future: surrounded by goblins and beetles. Thankfully, where Lan’s bees often fail, his bats provided great assistance to us. Distracting the enemy allowed some room to breath, a quick word to Rex helped point out an opening in the beetle’s defenses, and he was able to join us. Indra, unleashing lightning and thunder fury, had found himself in an unadvantageous position. I quickly shoved one of the goblins away from him, and created an opening for him to move to better ground. I shouted some encouraging words to him, and he was back to his normal, scaly, lightning-throwing form.

After that point, we fell into place as well-oiled cogs. Indra and Rex made short work of the remaining beetles and goblins, with one dropping it’s arms to surrender. After mild interrogation, we discovered they were working for (in a sick goblin/orc sense) some orcs in the area that were using them to gather gold and goods.

So let me ask you: what do you do with a surrendering goblin? You tie him up, and take him back to the settlement that he stole from. Justice is done.

All in all, the battle was good. The discipline and fervor the team displayed is a wonderful sign. I learned much about the ebb and flow of the battlefield in this short time. I must share this experience with Uncle Cato the next time I return to Waterdeep, though I don’t know when that time will be.

I'm all in.

I think I remember a meeting with Black Hand and maybe traveling… somewhere? I was mostly just daydreaming about throwing small humanoids into lava.

Eventually we came to a cave, which was kind of cool. I like caves. And rocks. I like big rocks. The cave was making noise. Goblin noise. That makes my axe happy. And my punching arm. Strategies were explained.

Option 1: Rush in with axe held high. Possible roaring.
Option 2: Find a large rock. Wait for goblins to come out. Drop rock on goblins.

I was okay with either plan. We went with option one. The goblins had red beetle friends. I greeted one with the pointy end of a javelin. It made a nice hat. My mates wasted little time conjuring all their fancy stuff. Lots of bats and bees and lightning. Cyrus thought it was a good idea to rush in past me. His prayers to Kord mush have been strong that day. Ha!

A good amount of smashing and zapping and beetle fire breath later we gained the upper hand and the battle was soon won. The lightning-dragon-man had bested me in kill count this time, but the final tally has yet to come.

Not much in the way of spoils. Some new pointy javelins and a goblin prisoner. I would have just let him go. I’m sure his mother is worried for him. Bahahaha.

After dispatching the goblin menace, and hearing of the orcish employers, it is time to head back to the Black Hand and get your next job. Dagol, your immediate superior, wants you to go after the orcs and put a stop to there raids on the local villages. He feels that by going after the orcs, any of the smaller raid groups will dissipate once they find that they are no longer being pressured into service.

Dagol has sent out scouts to try to get some information for you, and he feels that he might have a location of the orc’s settlement. About 50 miles south of Waterdeep is a small village of Newstark. There has been a much larger presence of orcs and goblins sighted near this village. Seeming to steam from a ruined keep near the town. Local’s say this keep is haunted and you can hear the screams of the damned after midnight.

Your job, investigate the keep, slay the orcs, and bring peace to the locals.

Our commanders in the Black Hand continue to demand “mission reports” from us after our battles. I have told them several times to listen to the wind, and all they need know will be spoken by the wind and rain. Of course they don’t understand. So I will give them their report. And continue to ask the spirits to bless my ignorant “superiors”.

We were tasked with stopping a goblin raiding party that was terrrorizing the local villages. A battle I was glad to accept. I’ve yet to meet a goblin that cared about the world around them .All they care for is gold, meat, and the battle. With what we’ve learned, it looks like we’ll be dealing with the goblinoid menace for the forseeable future. This revelation almsot cost us our lives, unfortunatly. And at the hands of only a handfull of goblins even! I hope none of my elven breathen find out about this, the humiliation would be severe.

We searched the area that we heard the goblins lived at, and eventually found their den. After doing a bit of reconisance and checking out the cave under cover of darkness, I found out that there were only three goblins, along with two of their beetle “pets”. Even though the beetles were a significant size, I dismissed them and considered the goblins our real threat. That was a mistake I will not be making in the future. Had I only taken a better look at them, I might have reconized them for what they were. Fire beetles. I hate fire beetles! Damn things almost roasted us alive too.

So we decide to enter the cave and take care of the goblin threat. Navigating around a poorly concealed trap (stupid goblins), we entered and took up position to do battle. And this is where our inexperience at working together showed. Rexgar, that giant brute, stopped to engage in battle with one of the beetles. Perhaps he had sensed the true threat. Maybe there is more to the giant lug than I give him credit for. Or maybe he picked the beetle because it reminded him of his favorite bruise. It’s hard to tell sometimes with him.

I was busy staying at the edge of the cave, staying out of combat range and using my bow to weaken our foes. Goblins hate bees. Really, everything hates bees, I find them quite helpful, I am always honored that the primal spirits are willing to grant me their small but significant help.

In the meantime Indra and Cyrus rushed forward, with Cyrus quickly getting surrounded. This is not good, neither one of them can handle a beating like that. Had it been Rexgar, I would have expected this. In panic to stave off the swift death that could have happened, I summoned a swarm of bats to confuse our enemies, drive them away, and give us a chance to regroup and re-organize. Cyrus took advantage of the distraction, and got Indra out of harms way.

THose damn fire beetles proved quite good at roasting us alive. Indra almost fell prey to one of their fire blasts, only the actions of Cyrus prevented what could have been fatal burns. We finished them off just in time too, they were about to blast us again soon I’m sure.

At the end of the battle we had one lone goblin who surrendered and begged for mercy. Mercy, ha! I’m traveling with a squemish lot. They decided to keep it alive and bring it back to town for a trial. Had this been a dwarf, or a human or one of the other civilized races, I would have agreed. But a goblin, they deserve nothing but a swift death. That miserable creature cared not for any being it came across. And in a way it got what it had coming to it. Had I had my way, an arrow through the throat would have been a swift painless death. Instead I can only imagine the torture the townsfolk inflicted upon the beast before it perished. There were several people in the town who had lost loved ones from these thieves, People who would wish slow, painful revenge on their enemies. The “honor” and “dignity” of cities and towns have no place in the wilderness. I must continue being a voice of reason with my allies. I fear if I don’t, we might end up sitting down and talking with our foes and working out payment schedules for the thieves to pay back their victims.
Its no wonder that the word for “not-elf” also means “foolish”.

During the goblin’s rants and groveling for its life, we did find out that the goblins were working for a larger Orc group. We now travel to find their base, and get rid of this thorn in the peace of the local area.

I hope that the messenger bird I used to send this message finds its way back to the Black Hand. It is a fine hawk, one that has flown far and kept up with our party throughout our travels. I doubt that the rest of the party even knows that we have an observer, watchiing our progress, and more than likely reporting what it sees to soemone. We’ve sparked someone’s interest, I only wonder who’s…..

You remember the vibrating gemstone atop the goblin staff, you remember the lightning bolt coursing through each of you, then you remember nothing.

You wake to the sounds of birds, the warm sun on your face brings you back to consciousness. Opening your eyes you see yourself in the middle of a meadow, not sure of how you got here. Your companions are no where to be found, the only creature here is a man sitting at a table in the middle of the field.

As you approach him, he smiles at you. He asks you to sit, hear his story, for it is about you.

“Time is short my son, there is much work to be done. The crystals, 9 total are the key to your destiny, you must find them before the hand does. Each crystal will grant you power, but the wicked church is watching you. The power of lightning is yours now, use it and smite your enemies.”

As the man completes his story, your vision once again goes black. You now lay on a cold stone floor, you hear a human speaking in some guttural language. Then you hear a door slam shut.

As you open your eyes to get an idea of your surroundings, you see that you are in a cell.

You spend your evening drinking your fill and eating more then you should. The innkeeper gives you a room for the night and you plan to be on your way back to Waterdeep in the morning.

As you drift into sleep, you find yourself sitting again in the field where you met the old man. You walk towards the middle of the field where he is sitting, he smiles at you.

“Welcome back child, I was hoping to speak with you soon. Know this, your fragile world hangs in the balance, after the setback with the orc’s, the Hand now finds you as a threat. But the Hand is not the master, just a pawn in a larger game. The Hand works for the Cult, and the Cult works for something far more sinister. Find the stones before the cult does. Your employers will send for you, you will not be making the return trip home. Instead you will be going near the Shadowfell, let us hope you do not have to venture into it.

Beware child, for you have more enemies then allies at this time."

As you start to wake at first light, you find yourself in your room at the inn, you walk downstairs to meet up with your comrades, and you see a man wearing the Black Hand tabard.

(Cyrus notices that the Black Hand looks a lot like the symbol of Bane)

He hands you a note with your new instructions.

The note reads:
“Travel north to the village of Winterhaven, they have employed us to find out what is happening in a ruined castle near by. Sounds of screams and other unholy noises have been coming from the keep as of late. Investigate the castle, dispose of the creatures causing the disturbances, and report back to Waterdeep.”

As your group leaves town to go north to Winterhaven, you hear the old man’s voice in your head…..